Smiley-Faces in Sharpie
by FangirlSupreme
Summary: In which a series of simple gestures give Maria Reynolds a little hope. Eliza/Maria coffee shop AU.
1. Chapter 1

Maria really wished she could get off the phone, but her soon-to-be-ex-husband, James Reynolds, continued to spew at her through the phone, and her fingers froze into a claw around her cell, unwilling to snap the phone closed. She could hear people muttering behind her in line, even over James' hateful comments. She'd have to call Mr. Burr, her divorce lawyer, afterwards, and tell him James wasn't leaving her alone

The barista, a sunny-looking young woman with long dark hair and a nametag decorated with hearts that read _Eliza_ (who Maria may or may not have developed a crush on over the past few months), looked at her concernedly. Maria tried to order her regular caramel latte, but that seemed to infuriate James even more.

" _Are you getting_ coffee _? You whiny, ungrateful bitch, that's my money!_ "

Maria swallowed hard, feeling tears prick her eyes, and stared down at the floor, holding the phone away from her ear. A hand entered her blurry vision, and she glanced up to see Eliza, holding out her hand. Trembling, Maria dropped the phone into Eliza's hand, who promptly shut the flip phone with a click, and handed her phone back paired with a caramel latte with extra whipped cream, and smiley-faces doodled in Sharpie on the side. Maria nodded her thanks, handed Eliza a five dollar bill with a raspy "Keep the change," and moved towards a table in the back.

She swiped at the tears, feeling like an idiot. She should've hung up the damn phone; it shouldn't have taken a random barista to hang up her own phone.

She wished the whole mess was over already.

A small clink sounded on the table, and she lifted her gaze minutely to see a small plate sitting in front of her; seated on it was a sizable cinnamon roll dripping with icing. She looked up higher to see Eliza sitting across from her, with a small, sympathetic smile.

Feeling her throat tighten, Maria managed a smile, then dropped her gaze again, feeling her cheeks flush. A napkin slid over to her, decorated with hearts and a phone number written in loopy digits.

She glanced back up at Eliza, who smiled and rose from her seat, brushing a comforting hand against Maria's shoulder before slipping back behind the counter. Maria could hear someone else asking where Eliza had run off to as she picked up the napkin with the phone number. Flipping it over, she saw a message written in the same curly handwriting.

 _My shift's over at 12:30. Hang in there!_

Maria smiled, running a thumb over the message, when her eye caught another small image.

A smiley-face, done in simplicity with Sharpie.


	2. Chapter 2

**So, like, I never intended to continue this. But y'all convinced me. So here you go**

"So, what happened?" Angelica Schuyler, Eliza's older sister, demanded as she furiously chopped vegetables at the kitchen counter. She'd had an encounter with Thomas Jefferson about the wage gap earlier, so she was making dinner in an attempt to take her frustration out on bell peppers and celery.

"I had to go back to work," Eliza finished lamely.

"And? Did she meet you?" Peggy, the youngest, persisted.

"Well...no," Eliza admitted. "But I think she might call me."

"How do you know?" Peggy asked.

"She...left a note."

"Aw," Angelica teased.

Eliza couldn't help but recall what had happened earlier that day…

* * *

 _6 hours previously..._

Eliza kept a close eye on Maria for the rest of the duration of her stay at Colonial Caffeine. Maria took small bites of the cinnamon roll Eliza had gotten for her until it was gone, then went back on her phone, talking to someone else, occasionally glancing around nervously. She hung up the phone after a few moments, looking defeated, then picked up the napkin and tucked it into her purse, trading it out for a thin pen, and reached for the napkin dispenser sitting on the table, scribbling something down for a few moments.

Eliza had been called by her boss, Martha, into the backroom for some odd reason (probably to get more espresso) and when she came back, Maria had disappeared.

Elize felt disappointment bloom in her chest as she approached the table, when her eyes fell on a napkin. Curiously, she picked it up, and read the message left in blue ink, written in small, neat cursive.

 _Sorry I had to split, had to meet my lawyer. I'll definitely call later, though!_

 _Thanks for everything._

 _Maria_

Her signature was paired with a smiley-face.

* * *

"Well, she sounds like a sweetheart," Angelica commented.

"You should see her," Eliza said. "She's got this really pretty curly hair, and she looks amazing in red-" She stopped abruptly at Angelica and Peggy's identical looks, the kind one wears when they hear an adorable story, the kind Eliza was used to wearing, not seeing.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Peggy grinned. "Hope she calls you, 'Liza."

* * *

Sure enough, after dinner, when Eliza was absent-mindedly flipping through _Wuthering Heights_ , frowning in distaste, her cell began ringing. Instantly, all her nerves were on edge as she peered at the caller ID, and seeing an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

'Hi, are you interested in winning a week-long trip to the Caribbean?" a male voice sounded on the other line. Eliza scowled and quickly hung up, then felt a little guilty; it wasn't the telemarketer's fault he wasn't Maria.

She sighed and turned her attention back to the book. A few minutes later, her phone rang again. Expecting another telemarketer or a wrong number, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Oh, um, hi. It's Maria. From earlier?"

 **Review, please!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Deep breaths," Maria told herself, gazing at the digits written on the napkin lying on the table in front of her.

Slowly, she dialed the number, and put it to her ear.

She waited a few moments as it rang, then internally flinched as the tone stopped, too used to an angry rant on the other end.

Instead, she was met with the softest "Hello?" she'd ever heard.

* * *

 _Earlier that day..._

Maria stepped through the glass doors of Burr & Hamilton Law, her heels clicking on the marble tile as she approached the front desk.

A young woman smiled up at her, the name plate on the granite counter reading _Dolley Payne Todd._

"Here to see Mr. Burr?" Dolley asked. When Maria nodded, Dolley simply smiled and pressed a button on the intercom.

"Sir, Maria Reynolds is here."

Maria heard Burr's garbled voice say "Send her in, please, Dolley."

Dolley nodded invitingly at Maria, gesturing down the hall. Maria briskly stepped across the tile, until she stood in front of Burr's office door. She raised her knuckles to tap on the pebble glass door and knocked quietly. The door opened, and Burr stood there, smiling pleasantly at her. "Miss Reynolds," he greeted, his soft voice wreathing its aura of calm. She was about to reply in kind when a loud voice sounded from behind her.

"Mr. Burr, sir! What are you up to?" Maria quickly spun to see another man, wearing a large grin, his shoulder length hair flying as he sprinted down the hall while trying to avoid spilling the coffee in a very large mug, coming to an abrupt halt in front of the two.

"Alexander, was that necessary?" Burr asked wearily.

"Exercise, Burr, sir," the man said, only a bit breathless. His gaze fell on Maria. "And who is this charming young lady?"

"Maria Reynolds, one of our newest clients," Burr answered swiftly. "Please don't scare her away."

"Miss Maria Reynolds!" the other man said warmly. "Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand.

Burr rolled his eyes. "Miss Reynolds, this is my associate, Mr. Alexander Hamilton."

Maria nervously held out her hand, and Hamilton grasped it with a firm shake. "Mr. Burr, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," she said.

"Of course, Miss Reynolds."

"Please, just Maria."

Burr inclined his head towards her. "Of course." He stepped aside, directing her inside his office.

* * *

"So we already told this asshole to leave her alone, right?" Hamilton asked, leaning back in his chair, his feet resting on Burr's desk.

"Save the vernacular, yes," Burr said.

"And he doesn't listen. How typically male, the little shit," Hamilton mused. Maria had to suppress a laugh.

"Please, Alexander, not in front of our clients," implored Burr.

"And who does he have as a lawyer?" Hamilton lifted his coffee mug, and Maria was briefly reminded of Eliza as she wondered where he had gotten such a gigantic mug.

"John Adams."

Hamilton choked on his coffee, and they all took a moment as Hamilton tried to expel the liquid caffeine from his lungs.

" _John Adams?_ That fat motherfucker, he doesn't know the law from his ass!" Hamilton exploded.

His eyes met Maria's with a crazed sort of fire. "No worries, Miss Reynolds, he's going down!"

* * *

"Hello?"

Maria froze for a moment. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth. She swallowed hard. "Oh, um, hi. It's Maria. From earlier?"

"Right! Of course! I'm Eliza. But you probably already knew that. How are you doing? Are you okay?" Eliza asked, rapid-fire. She sounded so genuinely excited to talk, and Maria felt herself calm down a little.

"I'm good, thanks. You?

"I'm great," Eliza replied warmly.

" I'm really sorry I couldn't meet you earlier; I had to run and meet my lawyer, and then we were there forever. I only just got home-" Maria rambled on before cutting herself off.

"It's okay! Really," Eliza insisted. "Is everything okay now?"

"Well...I think it is, for now," Maria said shyly.

"That's good."

"' _Liza, who are you talking to?"_ a voice called in the background.

"Sorry, those are my sisters," Eliza said. "Give me a sec." There was a muffled sound, like she was covering up the mouthpiece. "I'm talking to Maria!"

" _The cute girl you couldn't be quiet about from Colonial? You, go girl!"_ Maria smiled. Eliza said she was cute?

"Sorry, I'm back," Eliza said suddenly.

"You have sisters?"

"Yeah. Angelica and Peggy. We split the rent together. Do you have any sisters?"

"Yes, Susanna and Sarah. We're not really close though."

"Oh. That's a shame."

"Yeah. I'm hoping I can change that, but I think I need to get my own problems sorted out first."

"That's probably smart."

Maria laughed. "I hope so. Mr. Burr always says one should try and get back on their feet before they try to jump."

"Burr?"

"My lawyer," Maria explained.

" _Aaron Burr?"_

"You know him?"

"He's a friend and law partner to one of my old friends."

"Hamilton?"

"Oh, God, is Alex your lawyer too?" Eliza groaned.

"One of them…" Maria said, feeling uneasy. "Why?"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with him; I'm not saying that, he's just a little...excitable, I guess."

Maria couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I've noticed."

"Oh. Good." Both girls laughed. There was a bit of a silence that followed.

"Hey, so, um,..." Eliza hesitated before picking up speed. "See, I know a guy, and he invited my sisters and I to his anniversary party, and we're allowed to bring a plus-one. I know we don't know each other very well, but would you want to come? With me?"

"Oh, well-"

"I mean, you don't have to," Eliza said quickly. "I just thought maybe- you-know- we could get to know each other a little better-"

"Eliza?" Maria said quietly, and Eliza went silent, anticipating her answer.

"If-if you'll have me, I'd love to," Maria said softly.

"Really? Great! If you come by Colonial tomorrow, I can give you the details," Eliza suggested.

"That sounds great," Maria replied.

The two girls stayed up late into the night, discussing dreams and favorite colors.

Maria knew eventually she'd have to explain the entire mess with James, but not tonight.

Tonight, they could just talk.

* * *

 **Review please!**


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